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James A. Cusumano—entertainer, scientist, corporate executive, entrepreneur, and author. Cusumano started his professional journey in the early 1960s as a recording artist, the keyboard player and lead singer for the Royal Teens. He was recruited by the group’s manager to re-form this group after the original group disbanded. As lead singer, he recorded a number of songs, most notably “Short Shorts Twist.”

After receiving a PhD in physical chemistry, pursuing business studies at Harvard and Stanford, and receiving a fellowship at Churchill College at Cambridge University, he served as a research scientist and then Director of Catalysis R&D for Exxon.

Dr. Cusumano subsequently cofounded Catalytica, Inc. , one of Silicon Valley’s successful public companies with business units in sustainable energy and pharmaceuticals. He served as President and CEO of Catalytica and then as its Chairman. He also served as Chairman and CEO of Catalytica Pharmaceuticals , Inc., which grew in less than five years from several people to 2,000 employees with $500 million in revenue, increasing Catalytica’s market value on the NASDAQ stock exchange to more than $1 billion.

After Catalytica Pharmaceuticals was sold, Dr. Cusumano founded Chateau Wally Films and produced What Matters Most , released in more than fifty countries.

He next moved to Prague where he and his wife renovated Chateau Mcely into an internationally recognized luxury spa hotel and forest retreat, chosen by the World Travel Awards as The World’s Leading Green Hotel.

Dr. Cusumano created Chateau Mcely Forum to provide resources and educational products focused on Inspired Leadership and Conscious Business. He was also a cofounder of Leadership for Life , a program that brings internationally recognized leaders to Prague to teach the power and potential of Inspired Leadership.

He is the author of numerous peer reviewed technical and business publications as well as several fiction and non-fiction books. Cusumano writes a bimonthly columnist for ZEN Magazine and Czech & Slovak Leaders Magazine.

Early Life James A. Cusumano was born April 14, 1942 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, the oldest of 10 children. His parents, Charles A. Cusumano and the former Carmela Madeline Catalano were both first-generation Sicilian-Americans, both of whose parents came to the U.S. from the same village, Cammarata, located 60 km southeast of Palermo.

Cusumano expressed a significant interest in chemistry after receiving a chemistry set for his eighth Christmas. Before long, he had an operating laboratory in the cellar of his grandparents’ home in Elizabeth where the Cusumano family lived for his first 14 years. Selling to his neighbors cosmetics, adhesives and other specialties made in his laboratory gave him his first taste of technical entrepreneurship.

As a youngster, he also expressed a keen interest in rock and roll music. He joined a local group “Little Orbie & The Satellites” as the keyboard player and lead singer.

Cusumano graduated from St. Benedicts Preparatory School in Newark, New Jersey and received a B.A. in chemistry (1964) and PhD in physical chemistry (1968), both from Rutgers University. He studied business at Harvard and Stanford Business schools and became a Foreign Fellow of Churchill College at Cambridge University.

Recording Artist Early on, Cusumano began writing songs to sell to recording companies in New York City. This gave him his start as a recording artist. He wrote a song called “My One True Love,” which was recorded as a demo by the “Three Pennies.” In early 1961, while in discussions to release the song, he met and was signed by record producer Leo Rodgers, who asked him to re-form one of his groups, the Royal Teens. The group had a success in 1958 with “Short Shorts,” but had since disbanded. Using the stage name, Dino, this new rendition of the Royal Teens recorded “Short Shorts Twist” for Jubilee Records. It was chosen by WINS-AM disc jockey Murray The K as the “pick hit of the week,” and became a local hit.

In 1969, with the Royal Teens, Cusumano recorded for Musicor Records an album called “Newies But Oldies,” which featured hits of 1969 arranged in the style of the 1950s. “Hey Jude” and “Smile A Little Smile for Me” were released as singles.

Corporate Scientist and Research Executive After receiving his PhD, Cusumano went to work for Exxon as a research scientist and eventually became Director of Catalytic Technology R&D. His group developed a number of patents and commercial technologies in oil refining, petrochemicals and alternative energy. He left Exxon in 1974 with a close friend Ricardo Levy to join forces with Professor Michel Boudart of Stanford University in the formation of Catalytica, Inc. first as a consulting firm and then a technology developer and manufacturing company.

Silicon Valley Entrepreneur Catalytica was founded in Palo Alto, California and under his and Ricardo Levy’s leadership within 10 years, the company grew to $40 million annual revenue. In 1983 the company began raising venture capital and by 1993 it had raised more than $250 million and became a public company on the NASDAQ stock exchange. Catalytica was divided into three business units, Catalytica Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (CPI), Catalytica Energy Systems, Inc. (CESI), and Catalytica Technologies, Inc. (CTI). All three businesses were directed at socially-beneficial, cost-effective products and processes—low-cost pharmaceuticals made using environmentally-friendly processes; low-cost sustainable energy systems; and CTI continued a modest segment of Catalytica’s initial strategy to use its extensive know-how in catalysis to improve existing processes, making them cleaner and lower cost.

CESI invented and developed the world’s first practical, operating catalytic combustor system for gas turbines, expressly for the purpose of generating clean electricity. The company developed business ventures with General Electric and Kawasaki Heavy Industries and ran a commercial clean power generator in a power plant in Santa Clara, California.

Catalytica’s biggest success was in pharmaceuticals. CPI grew, in less than five years, from several people and no sales to 2,000 people, $500 million in revenues, $60 million in free cash flow, and a market value of more than $1 billion. CPI was primarily a pharmaceutical contract manufacturing company. It made nearly the world’s supply of GlaxoSmithKlein’s AZT, or Zidovudine the primary effective treatment for AIDS at the time. It also produced Zyban or Bupropion, a smoking cessation drug, Wellbutrin for treating depression and anxiety, and Lanoxin, a digoxin drug for cardiovascular disease. CPI manufactured a large number of over-the-counter drugs including the world’s supply of Neosporin, Sudafed, and Actifed. In 2000, CPI was sold to DSM Pharmaceuticals.

Movie Producer After the sale of Catalytica Pharmaceuticals to DSM Pharmaceuticals, Cusumano formed Chateau Wally Films to enable his now deceased wife and a scriptwriter, Jane to direct the film “What Matters Most.” She wrote the film’s script and he was the Executive Producer. It won a number of awards at international film festivals and was released in 2002 on LifeTime Television . The company renewed its license for a second run and ultimately the film was distributed in more than 50 countries. It stared Chad Allen , Gretchen German , Tamara Clatterbuck , Marshall Teague , Jim Metzler and Cusumano’s daughter, actress Polly Cole .

Holistic Hotelier In 2002, Cusumano met Inez Šipulova from Prague. They were married in 2003 and worked as business partners in the purchase and complete restoration of Chateau Mcely, a five-star castle hotel, spa and forest retreat, located just outside Prague in the St. George Forest. The castle was formerly owned by Thurn und Taxis aristocratic family. A member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH) , Chateau Mcely was awarded first place in 2006 as the Best Hotel Project in the Czech Republic. In 2007 it was designated by the European Union as the only GREEN 5-Star hotel in Central and Eastern Europe, and in 2008 Chateau Mcely won the World Travel Award as The World’s Leading Green Hotel.

Chateau Mcely has its own laboratory on site where the company develops and produces natural cosmetics—Mcely Bouquet —which are used in the castle spa and sold to a select group of luxury hotels in the Czech and Slovak republics.

Discography

Jubilee Records • 1961: Short Shorts Twist

Musicor Records • 1970: Newies But Oldies (album) • 1970: Hey Jude • 1970: Smile A Little Smile For Me

Books • Freedom From Mid-East Oil—(Co-author with Jerry B. Brown and Rinaldo S. Brutoco)—2007 • Cosmic Consciousness—A Journey To Well-Being, Happiness And Success—2011 • BALANCE: The Business-Life Connection—2013 • Life Is Beautiful: 12 Universal Rules—2015 • The Fallen: As Above, So Below—2016

External Links http://www.chateauwallyfilms.biz/ www.ChateauMcely.Com www.ChateauMcelyForum.Com www.LeadershipForLife.Cz